Dominic Burke ( – 1649) was an Irish Dominican

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

and political agent.

Biography

Burke appears to have been a native of

Athenry Athenry (; ) is a town in County Galway, Ireland, which lies east of Galway city. Some of the attractions of the medieval town are its town wall, Athenry Castle, its priory and its 13th-century street-plan. The town is also well known by virt ...

; he is documented as a member of the Dominican Abbey of the town, after which he studied at

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

. From 1628, he was a collegial student in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

where, after graduate studies, he became

lector Lector is Latin for one who reads, whether aloud or not. In modern languages it takes various forms, as either a development or a loan, such as , , and . It has various specialized uses. Academic The title ''lector'' may be applied to lecturers ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

and

confessor In a number of Christian traditions, including Eastern Orthodoxy, Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, a confessor is a priest who hears the confessions of penitents and pronounces absolution. History During the Diocletianic Persecut ...

. Burke was fluent in Irish, English,

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

and Italian. He was proposed in 1633 by Ridolfi for the Scottish mission but remained in Rome as procurator of the Irish Dominican province, which he held until 1639, succeeding his brother,

Oliver Burke Oliver Jasen Burke (born 7 April 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a right winger or forward for club Union Berlin. He came through the academy at Nottingham Forest, signing a professional contract in September 2014 a ...

. Between 1638 and 1640, he was proposed for the sees of

Clonfert Clonfert () is a small village in east County Galway, Ireland, halfway between Ballinasloe and Portumna. The village gives its name to the Diocese of Clonfert (Roman Catholic), Diocese of Clonfert. Clonfert Cathedral is one of the eight cathedr ...

, Kilalla and

Achonry Achonry (; ) is a village in County Sligo, Ireland. The old name is Achad Cain Conairi. St. Nath Í ua hEadhra (O'Hara) founded a monastery here. The foundation gave the later diocese its name. The monastery was founded on land granted by the ...

but not appointed to any of them. In 1639, he was in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to carry out an arbitration in a dispute between English Dominicans, meriting praise from

Carlo Rossetti Carlo Rossetti, ca. 1654-1672. Carlo Rossetti (also Roscetti; 1614 – 23 November 1681) was an Italian Catholic Cardinal, born of the noble Rossetti family in Ferrara. Earlier in his career he went to London as a secret nuncio on behalf of Pope ...

, the Papal Representative. He was by then patronised by the

Earl of Clanricarde Earl of Clanricarde ( ; ) is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of Ireland, first in 1543 and again in 1800. The former creation became extinct in 1916 while the 1800 creation is extant and held by the Marquess of Sligo since 19 ...

and the

Marchioness of Winchester Marquess of Winchester is a title in the Peerage of England that was created in 1551 for the prominent statesman William Paulet, 1st Earl of Wiltshire. It is the oldest of six surviving English marquessates; therefore its holder is considered t ...

, who had recommended him for a see. He returned to

in 1642 as its prior, instigating a programme of theological studies and was responsible for the repair of the priory church, thanks to the support of the

. Burke and his brother Oliver both served as

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

and adviser to Clanricarde, and only left his household at the threat of severe censure from Dominic Nugent, the provincial. They left his manor at

Portumna Portumna (- meaning 'the landing place of the oak') is a market town in the south-east of County Galway, Ireland, on the border with and linked by a Portumna bridge, bridge to County Tipperary. The town is located to the west of the point where ...

before 15 September 1642. Despite this, he was employed by Clanricarde as his agent to the Irish Confederates in Kilkenny, dealing directly with the Supreme Council. Burke was a resolute opponent of

Giovanni Battista Rinuccini Giovanni Battista Rinuccini (1592–1653) was an Italian Roman Catholic archbishop in the mid-seventeenth century. He was a noted legal scholar and became chamberlain to Pope Gregory XV. In 1625 Pope Urban VIII made him the Archbishop of Fer ...

during the later part of the

Irish Confederate Wars The Irish Confederate Wars, took place from 1641 to 1653. It was the Irish theatre of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of civil wars in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, all then ...

, signing the Ormond Peace in 1646. However, he repented of this in the last months of his life. He was a great-uncle of

John O'Heyne John O'Heyne (ca. 1648 – 11 December 1713) was an Irish Dominican and historian. Biography O'Heyne was born near Athenry about 1648. His paternal grand-uncle was Dominic Burke, O.P., who opposed the Papal Nuncio, Giovanni Battista Rinuccini ...

, who described him as "serious, pious and fprudent disposition." Thomas O Floinn writes that

References

* ''Old Galway'', Maureen Donovon O'Sullivan, 1942 * ''Burke, Dominic'', Thomas S.R. O Floinn, in ''Dictionary of Irish Biography from the Earliest Times to the Year 2002'', pp. 22–23,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, 2010. {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, Dominic 1603 births 17th-century Irish Roman Catholic priests Irish Dominicans Christian clergy from County Galway 1649 deaths Irish expatriates in Italy People from Athenry